


arise

by perhapssoon



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Multi, Pythor is the comic relief for some reason, but it’s confusing as hell, everything isn’t crazy, harumi and morro argue way too much, hes hilarious?? Idk why, the ninja are evil bois, theyre at a disadvantage okay, theyre trying their best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-21 23:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15568581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perhapssoon/pseuds/perhapssoon
Summary: What if the ninja were evil and the canon seasons were desperate attempts to break everyone from the hallucinogenic darkness?Skylor, Cryptor, Harumi, and Morro are the only ones free from the ninja’s influence. It’s time to do something about it.





	1. sides

It's so dark that Skylor wonders if her eyes are closed and strains to open them more, but the lighting doesn't change.  She notes that she's wrapped in some kind of thick chains, the metal digging into her skin. They probably are going to leave rather large bruises. 

Light snoring next to her tells her that Harumi is nearby. She nudges the other girl the best she can to wake her up. 

"Psst, Rumi! Wake up!"

The other girl wakes with a groan.  "What?" she mumbles, shifting slightly and nearly tilting Skylor off the chair she's sitting on. She seems to get her bearings much faster than Skylor expects because she suddenly says, much clearer, "Why are we tied up?"

"Don't you remember? The ninja?"

"Oh, right." Harumi sighs and slumps in her seat, the chains connecting the two teens growing taut as she suddenly sits up again. "Wait, where are Morro and Cryptor?"

Skylor shrugs, wincing as the chains constrict around her. "I don't know.  Maybe somewhere where they can't escape either."

"Don't you have your elemental powers?"

Skylor hesitates before trying to shift her body into a cloud of smoke.  Nothing happens.

"These chains are made of Vengestone," she realizes.  "It blocks Elementals from using their powers."

Harumi makes a noise, like she is going to say something, but a shaft of light suddenly pierces the darkness, illuminating the small room.

"I finally caught your ghost friend," Lloyd says, standing in the doorway. The two girls squint up at him, their eyes trying to adjust to the light.

Skylor can barely make out an almost translucent figure next to Lloyd, wrapped in chains as well.

"These are Deepstone chains," Lloyd says, and he brings Morro inside and drops him on a chair facing the girls.  "Have fun."

The Green Ninja slams the door as he leaves, and the darkness comes swooping in to take the place of the light. Silence follows.

"Well," Morro says after a period of silence. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Don't ask me, I'm all out of ideas," Skylor says.  She can see the faint glow coming from Morro, due to him being a ghost and can see the frown illuminated across Harumi's face.

"I don't know if there's a way to get out of here, unless Cryptor is still free."

As if on cue, their comms crackle -- apparently, none of the ninja thought to disable them -- and Cryptor's voice floats through the dark room.

_"I don't know where you are, and I'm going to assume that you've been captured.  They're close to finding me, but I think I have a plan. If I can hack into their security systems and figure out where you three are being held, that might work, considering most of the room in the place are weaponized--"_ There's a loud snap of static and the sound of something that sounds suspiciously like a chainsaw makes Skylor wince.  Cryptor starts talking faster; his voice processor must be damaged, as the tone of his voice starts fluctuating, making him sound like he's on some rather violent roller coaster. _"--so maybe I can break you out of there. Hopefully, they don't scrap me. I don't have a lot of time, but if you could somehow figure out if there are mounted weapons in the room you're in, like those panelled weapons, I could utilize those--"_

There's something that sounds like a gunshot, a loud clang, and static pours into Skylor's ear until she manages to shut the comms off by banging her ear on her shoulder.

They're so screwed.

_\---- A few days before ----_

“I’ve got it! We resurrect some ancient form of good and use it to—“

“Already did that, like a bunch of times. The only time when we didn’t do that was your plan.”

“Which, technically, you did accomplish that. Summoning the Anacondrai generals?”

“Right.” Skylor sinks down in her seat with a sigh. “I just wish we had a way to get rid of them. It’s like they’re playing in their other universe where we are the villains and they are the heroes.”

“It sure seems that way,” Harumi humphs. “Only four of us and six of them. Not counting their stupid sensei. I thought Garmadon coming back would seal the deal.”

Cryptor rolls his eyes. “As if the Overlord failing didn’t remind you; resurrecting _anyone_ isn’t going to cut it.”

"Okay, but we actually need a new plan," Morro says.  "More than half of Ninjago is corrupted already, and the Elemental Masters' contact with the ninja put them on their side as well.  We can't go anywhere without anyone recognizing us."

"I'm all out of ideas," Harumi admits.  "The Sons of Garmadon were my last resort designs but since it didn't work..."

A heavy silence fell over the group.  It would only be a matter of days before all of Ninjago succumbed to darkness.

"What if we fight them, but as ourselves?" Skylor suggests.

"You mean without costumes of anything?" Morro asks incredulously.

"I mean, why not?" Harumi jumps in, looking excited.  "It's our last chance and we already wasted time with all our other plans so if we just go out there as a last resort and do things without any specificness to it--"

"--it might work," Cryptor finishes.  He looks slightly doubtful, but the others have come to know that he is doubtful about pretty much everything when it comes to the end of the world.

"This will be so much easier without hosts or advanced mechs or anything," Morro exclaims, studying his own ghostly arm.

"And my powers going full strength?" Skylor asks, glancing over at Harumi who nods with a grin.

"Full strength."

"What about my 'alliance' with the nina?" Skylor asks.

"Do you still have a soft spot for that Kai fellow?" Harumi asks sympathetically and Skylor shrugs.

"A bit.  I haven't seen him in a while."

"We can free him once we defeat Wu," Morro says, his tone dropping slightly at the mention of his old sensei.

"Hey," Skylor says, recognizing his hesitation. "It wasn't your fault.  We all would've been evil if not for you. And Rumi, of course."

Harumi grins.  "Aww, thanks."

"So we're going out as ourselves, regardless if our previous covers are blown or anything," Cryptor sums up, and Morro nods.

"It's our last chance.  Might as well go all out."

"Pep talk!" Harumi says suddenly before turning to her friends. "Guys, I _do not_ want you dying on me. Got it?"

"Aye aye Rumi!" Morro mock-salutes her.

"I can't really die," Cryptor says unhelpfully, and Harumi rolls her eyes.

"Okay, but you can be destroyed.  And scrapped. That's pretty much the same thing."

"Oh, okay." Cryptor feigns ignorance, much to Harumi's exasperation.  "Didn't know that."

"So either take your stuff with you or burn it, because we aren't coming back," Morro says.

"Woah, who says we aren't coming back?" Harumi asks, looking surprised.

"We're literally living underneath the Samurai X cave," Morro grumbles.  "Excuse me for not wanting to be caught so soon."

"Okay, but the two of us are technically still on good terms with the ninja," Skylor points out. 

"Yeah, but there isn't any excuse for us to be here."

"Okay, stop fighting," Cryptor interjects, red eyes narrowed. "If we want to get out of here without being spotted, we need to leave as soon as possible."

Skylor sighs.  "You're right. I'll go find something easier to move in." She awkwardly walks off, shrugging off her Ultra Violet biker jacket along the way.

"Hey!" Harumi calls after her.  "Keep the bandanna!"

Skylor, as a way of response, unties it from her neck and waves it in the air before disappearing into her makeshift room.

"I don't want any of these outfits to go to waste," Harumi says, looking down at her own dark outfit. "I'm just going to keep something from every outfit."

"Do what you want," Morro says, already going to his own room. "See you in twenty minutes."

\--

Exactly twenty minutes later -- Morro had made sure of it, due to convincing Cryptor to set off all of the alarms and security systems at the same time -- they found themselves in the middle of nowhere.  Well, nowhere was pushing it a bit as they could clearly see New Ninjago City's outline in the distance, but it only had been two minutes and Skylor was already missing the place.

She knew they couldn't stay there, of course, because of the large possibility that the ninja would find them, but it was the closest they could get to an actual shelter. And speaking of an actual shelter...

"Where are we going to live now?" Skylor asks, and Morro shrugs. 

"Wherever we can.  We need to finish this before they manage to get the Realm Crystal. Then it's all over for us."

"For the rest of the Sixteen Realms as well," Harumi points out.

"Yeah, okay, but that's a given if they procure the _Realm Crystal_."

\--

Harumi and Morro argue the whole way to New Ninjago City, their voices surprisingly not rising above a raised voice, but they are still loud enough for both Cryptor and Skylor to shush them multiple times.

But as soon as they step into city limits, they fall silent, and Skylor has to glance towards Borg Tower to figure out why.

The tallest building in New Ninjago City has fallen.  Half of it lies crumbled on top of the buildings surrounding it, while the rest is still standing, rather pathetically.

"What in the name of the FSM happened here?" Morro asks, looking horrified. 

"It appears that the building has been destroyed," Cryptor replies, eyes darting between the two halves. "The cracks in the ground indicate an earthquake or--"

"Those damn ninja," Harumi sighs. "Again.  Surprised Borg never figured out what was going on. He's smart, right?"

"He should be," Skylor says. "But we're morons and we know that the ninja are evil."

Morro blinks and turns to face her. "We're morons?"

"Yeah, we're stupid enough to try to take the ninja with some elaborate plot that somehow resurrects something or someone multiple times," Cryptor says without looking at them and everyone falls silent.

"So now what do we do?" Harumi asks. She doesn't seem like she wants to look at the tower anymore.  Maybe it was too strong of a reminder of the time they resurrected Garmadon.

"You die," a voice rings out, and Skylor knows that voice anywhere. Still, despite her instincts, she turns and looks the Master of Fire in the eye.

"Kai."


	2. turns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little more complicated when the ninja find them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are a bit confusing but it works. Somehow.

Harumi knows of her friend's former attachment to the Ninja of Fire, and she knew she only pulled out of the only happiness she could've known just to save a world that might not be able to be saved.

Placing a cautious hand on Skylor's shoulder, she murmurs, "You good?"

Skylor nods, her expression unchanging -- it's one that Harumi knows well: hostility, and all four of them know what that means. "Kai, what are you doing here?"

The smile on the ninja's face is so fake, Harumi wants to slap it into the Departed Realm for how upfront he is. "I wanted to check on you."

“Oh, so a death threat is 'checking' on someone?"

“Look, Skylor," Kai scratches the back of his neck, and he almost looks different. Uncorrupted, if Harumi might go as far as she did in her time as the Jade Princess. But they all know how far deep he is. How all of them are. All of them are past saving; at least until they defeat Sensei Wu. "I'm sorry about what happened at the Tournament, and I'm still sorry. I wish things could--"

"Save it." Skylor is glaring at Kai with such intensity that he actually flinches. "If you're sorry, you wouldn't be with that 'Sensei' of yours."

Kai sighs. "I wish you would've come with me."

There's a slight shuffling sound and Harumi looks to find the rest of the ninja have surrounded them. They're outnumbered and outgunned, two to three.

"Look, this can go one of two ways," Jay says slowly, hands raised. "Either it's the easy way and you come with us, or it's the hard way where you--"

Cryptor -- of course, out of the three large tempers in the group, it had to be the most violent one -- doesn't let him finish. He's already in motion, katanas out and aiming for Jay's throat. A wave of water causes him to careen to the side, nearly hitting Lloyd, who jumps out of the way just in time. 

And then it's chaos.

Harumi's never really gotten the hang of fighting in a group. She's always worried she'll hit someone from her own team, but she quickly learned that her instincts were more refined than she thought. Months and years of fighting the ninja together also made her a bit more intune to her teammates' motions and instincts.

Nya goes straight for her legs, and Harumi manages to leap out of the way just in time for an ice blast coming from Zane's direction to cement her arm to her sword. "Guys!" she yells into the comm link as sparks fly at her from every direction. "Are we going for the murder tactic or?"

 _"Injure them, but keep them alive,”_ Morro orders, as he phases through a wave of earth. _“Not that we’ll win here anyway.”_

Cryptor flies past her vision, swords covered in dripping green goo. She doesn’t want to know where that came from. But whatever it is, it seems to be working, as the ninja scatter. 

 _“We can’t take them at once!”_ Skylor yelps as a sword cuts into her arm, ripping through her jacket. _“I just heard Zane call for backup!”_

Using her ever-present deductive skills, Harumi assumes she means Pixal is coming. And that will spell even worse trouble for all of them. 

“We need to split up!”

 _“Bad idea,”_ Morro says. _“Who knows how long it’ll be before we can find each other again?”_

 _“Approximately 18 hours, assuming we stay in Ninjago, and not in some other realm,”_ Cryptor says and Harumi can’t help rolling her eyes despite their situation. 

 _“I mean in New Ninjago City!”_ Morro shouts and a sudden explosion rips through the ground, separating the two sides.

Pixal lands in between them, Samurai X mech locked and loaded. “It would be best for both of us if you stand down,” she cautions. 

“And you’re gonna make us?” Harumi grimaces at Morro’s childish words but she even feels the urge to flip the android woman off. 

Pixal doesn’t smile; she never smiles, not since her corruption. Of course, the ninja may think differently, but that knowledge is beyond Harumi. “I will if necessary.” 

There’s a whirring noise and three large missile launchers rise out of the arms of the mech and aim right at them. 

“I have a feeling that we should run now,” Harumi says. From where she’s standing, she can see into the cannons themselves and it’s very disturbing. 

“If we make any sudden movements, she’ll fire,” Cryptor warns. “Let me talk to her.”

“Wow what a surprise: Cryptor being diplomatic for once,” Morro says sarcastically. Harumi is about to chastise him for being so light at this heavy of a situation but she notices his eyes are locked on the cannons. His ability to phase through solid objects isn’t a problem to use to avoid the missiles, so she wonders exactly why he’s so worried. 

Evidently, he isn’t going to take charge anytime soon, so Skylor is the one to respond. “Go ahead. But if she ends up trying to blow you up like last time—”

Pixal opens the cockpit of her mech and drops lightly to the ground. “Cryptor. You don’t need to tell me twice. Negotiation has never been your strong suit, even under the Overlord’s rule.”

Cryptor’s expression doesn't change, which is something Harumi has come to terms with as his lack of sympathy. 

“And you are still willing to drop your guard as well,” he responds. 

Zane starts forward, but Pixal waves him back. “I can handle this,” she says. 

And as soon as Cryptor walks over to her, the ninja surge forward and secure everyone’s hands behind their back. Harumi can feel the cold metal against her wrists as she is forced to a kneeling position. Judging from the shadows streaking across the concrete, Lloyd is the one to shackle her. 

It’s not so much of a surprise, but it sure is disappointing. 

“I thought you were over me,” she hisses, smirking despite herself. 

“I am.” His response is unusually blunt, and it’s enough to make her shut up. 

She doesn’t know how she feels about Lloyd anymore. She was falling for him since she met him, but his ties to the greatest evil in the land was what made her sever the connection and give up her title. 

It was worth it, but it cost so much. 

But seeing how Skylor still interacted with Kai, how Morro was adamant to avoid his old sensei, and even how Cryptor, who was as incapable of actual love than anyone she’s ever met, still hesitated to kill the only other person who knew him so well, Harumi wasn’t sure if she wanted to keep things this way. 

Awkwardness aside, it wouldn’t do any good to continue on. 

“You know,” Pixal starts, and it’s so unlike her to speak this way, that Harumi immediately knows that something’s up. “I was looking through my databank the other day. And something called a ‘duel’ suddenly entered my processors. We aren’t unreasonable. I believe it is right that in order for is to free you, you each have to fight one of us. Either that, or we take you to the Bounty to figure out how best to kill you. How does that sound?”

No one says anything, and for a moment, Harumi is tempted to say that they will duel. But Cryptor speaks next and it makes her freeze in place.

“There’s a catch.”

It’s a statement, not a question. 

Pixal smiles then, and it’s so terrifying, Harumi wishes that she wouldn’t smile again. It’s better that way. “Yes; you know me too well. All of your individual battles will determine whether you go free on your own. Not pertaining to anyone else’s battles.”

“So you battle for your own freedom,” Nya clarifies and her voice is louder in proximity; it makes Harumi flinch. 

“Correct.”

“What are the terms for the battle?” Skylor asks. 

“You have to figure that out for yourself, but there are no rules. There are no rules for your capture either.”

Before anyone has a chance to figure out what she just said, Pixal grabs Cryptor’s arm, wrenching him to the floor with a loud crack as his arm nearly breaks off from the sudden pressure. 

Harumi’s not sure if she’s more concerned about the lack of emotion on his face or sparks that are flying from the now dislocated arm. 

“Now,” Pixal continues. “What is your choice?”

Harumi can see Skylor and Morro exchange glances. She knows what they’re going to choose, and she proven correct when Morro says, “We won’t fight you.”

Pixal nods slowly. “I see.” 

Reaching down, she deactivates Cryptor and he falls forward with a loud clang, eyes dim. Harumi can feel herself forcibly being yanked to her feet, Lloyd keeping a firm grip on the back of her shirt. 

She doesn’t know what’s going to happen next, and she doesn’t want to find out.


	3. walls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Defeat sucks. Morro knows that well enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, now I’m just playing a game called how long can I make this before I give up. Spoiler alert: I give up quickly.

Morro is so tired of getting defeated. It happens every single time, and he just wants to crawl back to the Departed Realm and stay there forever. 

But he can’t. And he knows that. 

They’re aboard the Destiny’s Bounty. And he’s grateful for it. The closer they can get to Sensei Wu, the better. 

Another part of him wants to leave this place. He’d rather die (again) in a duel than face his old master. 

But fate is cruel like that. 

They dump him and his friends onto the deck of the ship, letting them all drop unceremoniously to the floor with loud thunks. Morro manages to suspend himself a few inches with his wind powers — they seemed to have forgotten about Vengestone and Deepstone so far — and lets himself settle onto the wood. 

Harumi lands on her knees, and by the look on her face, it hurts. A lot. Skylor yanks her body away from Kai, who was the one leading her to the ship, and glares at him and Morro winces at the intensity of the glare. And a deactivated Cryptor is just dumped on the deck, arm still spitting out sparks.

"Is Sensei Wu out yet?" Lloyd asks someone -- Morro can't tell who because he's forced to sit facing the opposite way.

“No," Pixal replies. "I will notify him if you need me to."

“Nah, thanks Pix. I can do it myself." And true to his word, Lloyd walks past Morro's field of vision and disappears through the doorway.

The remaining ninja and their captives are left to a rather awkward silence.

"So," Jay starts, as an attempt to strike up conversation. "How have you guys been?"

It seems fitting, Morro supposes, that Jay would seem the least corrupt, considering how lighthearted he can seem at times. But he knows better than to trust anyone under Sensei Wu's teachings. _All_ of them know better.

"Jay, I don't believe that this is the correct time to be talking," Zane says.

"No, yeah, you're right." Jay lapses into silence, and Morro almost wishes he would start talking again as Wu appears in the doorway.

He looks just as Morro remembers: that stupid hat, the obnoxiously long beard, and that ever-present cane. And the tea. Always the tea.

"Ah, we have some surprise guests," he says with a half smile, which Morro knows well enough to be an attempt to bring their guard down. If anything, it makes them even more tense. He can feel Skylor strain against her bonds and see Harumi giving the sensei her death glare.

Seeing his old sensei again, Morro is struck with a sense of deja vu. He's never been on the Destiny's Bounty as a child, but he has been in this position with Wu before: helpless and, despite his attempts at confidence, scared.

Wu gives him a look that expresses pity, disgust, and regret all at once and Morro feels his gut twist. 

He hates him so much.

"You'll be fine," he can hear Skylor murmur. "We all will."

He wants to tell her that they most likely won't be fine. Wu's intent may look harmless, but it always ends in brutal murder. He's seen those basement rooms in the dojo once while exploring. He never wanted to look again.

“Did Pixal tell you of the offer to duel?" Wu asks, eyes darting from captive to captive, his gaze lingering on Skylor for a moment before moving on. "It still stands."

"We refuse," Skylor spits. "We refuse to play whatever hellish plan you've laid out."

"It's not a plan," Wu says. "It is a chance for freedom."

“Or else?"

"Or else you die," Nya says. "You die a horrific death or you play a risk to perhaps not die."

"I'd rather die," Harumi growls. If Morro were Nya, he would've taken a few steps back, just in case. Nya, to her credit, only looks startled.

"Well, it's your loss," Kai says from behind them and hands grip the back of Morro's gi. As he's hoisted upwards, he makes eye contact with Skylor, who seems to be mouthing something. 

It takes him a second before he realizes she's counting down.

_Three_

_Two_

_One_

In one smooth motion, Skylor snaps her chains, and creates a wall of earth that punctures through the deck of the ship. Morro phases through his chains, and while Skylor is busy reactivating Cryptor, he goes over to Harumi and takes the scythe that's still on her back (he still doesn't understand why they made it this easy to break out) and slices through her bonds.

The deck suddenly is a flurry of movement and the ninja are surrounding them, weapons drawn. Morro hesitates. He is the unofficial leader of the group, sure, but the work is a team effort. He glances over to the rest of the team. Harumi has ripped her skirt a bit but she just makes the most of it and tears it off, tying the scrap of fabric around her arm. Skylor is massaging her shoulders a bit from the effort it took to break free, but her double-edged blade is in her hands. Cryptor has popped his arm back into place, and he would start the attack already if it weren't for the hesitation from the rest of his friends at large.

They don't want to fight like this again.

“Split up!" Morro decides and they scatter. But he notices, as he darts inside the Bounty, Sensei Wu has disappeared from the scene.

It's not too much to dwell on, however, because Zane is suddenly in front of him. The ground turns to pure ice, and Morro manages to hover just in time. A blast of wind shoves the nindroid down the hallway, allowing the ghost to turn into the nearest room.

And he immediately wants to leave.

The place is Lloyd's room. He's had a glimpse of it while possessing the Green Ninja, but he had never seen it in full.

And he doesn't have a chance to see it again as Cole suddenly comes crashing through the doorway, the wooden frame of the mirror on the back splintering into thousands of tiny pieces. Morro immediately floats upward and phases through the ceiling.

He nearly bumps into Skylor, who's on the roof for some reason. She's facing off against Nya and Jay, who seem to be utilizing electrified water as a weapon. It doesn't seem to be proving effective, as Skylor just redirects the water back at them, causing them to dive out of the way. Jay overshoots by a lot and falls off the roof with a shriek.

Nya summons a wave of water and creates a huge bubble that envelops Skylor, bringing metal chains out of nowhere to latch onto her wrists and snake around her, binding her. Morro tried to approach to help but Nya waves a second jet of water at him and he has to phase through the floor again, heeding Skylor’s shouts to run. 

A loud scream suddenly pierces his ears, signifying that Harumi is in trouble so Morro phases through the walls until he nearly goes through Kai, who has Harumi against a wall with a large fire entity. 

Thinking fast, Morro enters Kai’s body and takes control, despite his better judgement. Using his wind powers, he extinguishes the flames and waves Harumi onward, which she does so with a quick smile of thanks. The ground suddenly rumbles and a spike of earth suddenly cracks through the ground in front of him. Abandoning Kai’s body, Morro catches a glimpse of Cryptor running after Zane as the floor caves inward. He floats upwards in time to be caught by a huge wave of water, that washes through his left arm. 

Dripping ectoplasm, he manages to evade the rest of the ninja to find somewhere to regrow his arm. Harumi’s voice suddenly crackles in his ear.

_“Skylor’s been caught! Cole and Jay are after me, and I can’t hold them off for long so if either of you can—”_

The comms go dead, and Morro is left to silence, along with the occasional clank of metal as Cryptor holds off the ninja in an adjacent room. 

Suddenly, chains snake out of nowhere, glowing green. They wrap around his body and squeeze, and while he struggles to phase through them, he can’t. 

They’re made of Deepstone. 

His wind powers are immediately shut off as well, and Morro feels a sense of panic rush through him as Lloyd comes into the room, holding onto the loose ends of the chains. 

“I was waiting for you,” the Green Ninja says, a strange scowl crossing his face briefly. “Heard you possessed Kai back there. Cheap shot.”

Morro grimaces. “So? I didn’t possess you this time. Be thankful.”

Lloyd sighs and just drags Morro through the door and down the steps nearby into blackness.


	4. complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are complicated. Cryptor hates it.

Cryptor’s the last one left. Again. It wouldn’t be such a hassle, though, if the ninja would just stop trying to kill him. 

But he knows they won’t stop until they get their hands on him. And he doesn’t want to know what they are doing to his friends at the moment. 

Pixal, quite surprisingly, hasn’t joined the fight yet. Her absence makes things a lot easier, but not by much. 

Jay seems to want to electrocute him, with hopes that it will cause him to short-circuit. It won’t, of course, not with a light jolt, but Cryptor isn’t willing to take chances. His arm threatens to fall off again with every blow he gives and he ends up stowing one of his katanas to favor his left arm. 

Jay leaves the fight for a moment, and Cryptor is too busy to think too hard about it because Zane is intent on splitting his head open with a rather sharp beam from the ship’s innards. He retaliates by wedging his katana into Zane’s knee joint as the latter falls past him in a hurried parry to cause it to jam. 

With Zane taken care of, Cryptor focuses on Cole, who unexpectedly steps aside for Jay, who's wielding a chainsaw. 

He would reprimand them for their weapon choices but when Jay swings the saw at his face, he focuses on trying to stay together for the time being and crashes through the wall, trying to find a place where the ninja weren’t trying to break him into millions of pieces. 

The nearest empty room is the control panel, which looks like a tornado hit the place, though the systems were all still online. 

He doesn’t know if the others’ comms are on and he quickly activated the link, speaking into it as quickly as he can. 

“I don’t know where you are and I’m going to assume that you’ve been captured. They’re close to finding me, but I think I have a plan. If I can hack into their security systems and figure out where you three are being held, that might work, considering most of the rooms in the place are weaponized—”

Jay suddenly explodes into the room, jabbing the chainsaw at his chest. Almost at the same time, the walls open up, and large saws — those quite similar to the ones Cryptor used in the time of the Overlord — spiral out of them and he is forced to dodge them. 

Unfortunately, Kai comes into the room just then, and as a lucky shot, manages to spear his chest, scratching the side of his voice box. 

Cryptor can feel a quick jolt of electricity shock him as he struggles to fend off the weapons and the ninja. Remembering that his comm connection is still open, he quickly continues, ignoring that his voice sounds rather out of ordinary. “—so maybe I can break you out of there. Hopefully, they don’t scrap me. I don’t have a lot of time, but if you could somehow figure out if there are mounted weapons in the room you’re in, like those paneled weapons, I could utilize those—”

The sudden arrival of Pixal cuts him off and she slams him into the control panel, severing the connection. 

“About time you showed up,” he says through gritted teeth. 

She merely glares at him. “You always wait for me. I never know why.”

He has no answer for that. What is he supposed to say?

He can hear Harumi’s voice in his ear, faint and distant, but still there. 

_“She’ll kill you! You need to convince her to a duel!”_

“Challenge her is more like it,” Cryptor mutters to himself and Pixal’s eyes narrow suspiciously. 

“Who are you talking to?”

His comm link is built into his head, so she has no way to taking it out by force. Unless she bashes his head with Jay’s chainsaw, like she already looks like she’s considering it. 

“The duel. Is that offer still standing?”

Pixal’s eyes widen momentarily, proving Cryptor’s suspicions. “I was going to kill you here. You want a drawn out one as well?”

Cryptor shrugs as nonchalantly as he can, which isn’t hard, considering the minimal range of emotion he was programmed with. “I guess so.”

Pixal turns to the rest of the ninja. “Ask the others if they want to fight for their freedom too.”

Zane nods and vanishes out of Cryptor’s peripheral vision. 

“And while we wait,” Pixal says, as she lets up on the pressure, letting him stand. “Why don’t you tell me about all of your adventures before I get the pleasure of killing you?”

——

She leads him to an empty room, devoid of any furniture except for a few stacks of boxes here and there. 

Shoving him onto a box, she sits down across from him and says, “Talk.”

He would, if his words would have an impact in her. There isn’t a point anymore, not when he’s tried countless times. She’s set in the mindset she’s in, in love with Zane, happy with the ninja, all of the emotions that he couldn’t give her. 

And he would never be able to. 

He just sits there, eyes on her. She looks a bit annoyed that he isn’t talking. 

“I thought you trust me.”

“I do,” he says, despite himself. He doesn’t trust her, not really, but that little nagging sensation tells him the truth.

Pixal nods slowly and smiles. It’s almost as if she’s on his side again, but her bright green eyes are a constant reminder of the side change. “How much are you willing to risk for your friends?”

It’s a total change from the reason she gave for dragging him here, but he knows how her mind works. 

“Enough to stick with them,” he says, choosing his words carefully. 

Pixal nods slowly. “Do you care about them?”

She’s testing him for emotion. Borg used to have to do that for each of them from time to time to make sure her AES-ES chip was working and he didn’t have any too complicated or intense emotions, considering his personality. 

He doesn’t reply. 

Pixal narrows her eyes into green slits and asks again. “Cryptor. Do you care about your friends?”

It’s the second time today that she’s said his name outright, and before that was just a curt recognition by gesture. It’s enough to bring down the gates. Just a little. 

He can almost hear his friends telling him not to listen, but it’s too late.

He _wants_ her back. 

“Yes.”

“How much?”

She’s evaluating him, he knows that. It was always the question of even experiencing emotion, followed by the intensity and then, based on the answers, what they would do to fix it. 

And he doesn’t want to be as far gone as she is; he doesn’t want to have any attachments as far as he’s come so far. Skylor eradicated hers as well as she could, Harumi went as far as to mocking hers, and Morro, well, Morro he wasn’t sure but he sure put up more of a fight that Cryptor is now. 

He hates it. So much. 

Maybe there was a reason why Borg had him built this way. Or maybe not. 

She is watching him, her hair covering one eye, purple and blue glaring out at him like they knew he was in the wrong.

But he _wasn’t_. 

 _She_ was. 

And he _lost_ her. 

He stands. “I agreed to a duel, not reminiscing of our times with Borg.”

She frowns. “I am just asking you questions. Is that not enough for you? I’m talking to you with no lies, no evil intent, nothing.”

He doesn’t bother to point out that everything she does is under evil influence but they’re past that already. The difficulty now is accepting it. 

“I don’t care.” Every word stings, like it has a purpose but it’s not the purpose he wants it to have. “I challenge you to a duel.”


	5. issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This feels like a filler chapter. It is, but Harumi doesn’t know that. Shhhh

The three left in the darkened room sit in silence for what seems like forever. It feels like hours ago that Harumi suggested for Cryptor to challenge Pixal to a duel but they have no way of knowing if he did what she said. 

And speaking of duels, there was one thing nagging Harumi. 

When she was unconscious, she watched the duel. Not personally, no, but it was vague, the details washed out. All she knew was that there was a duel: two figures, an empty room.

And only one came out alive. 

And Cryptor, being the only one of the four who technically couldn’t die (he had specified that long ago) she assumed that whoever went into the ring wasn’t Cryptor. 

Now she is starting to doubt it. 

Pixal had an intensity strong enough to kill, and they all knew there was no one she wanted dead by her hands more than Cryptor. 

And it was such a coincidence that she was the only person Cryptor didn’t want to kill or deactivate. 

To her, it seems like everything they do, the ninja thwart it. It’s like a bad TV show where the heroes always lose. Or in their case, it’s the perfect one because they’re the ones playing hero in their darkness-influenced hallucinations. 

“So what do we do?” she asks, shoulder bumping against Skylor’s. “We’re stuck, and we have no connection to Cryptor because his comm link isn’t open.”

“We wait, I guess,” Skylor responds, shifting slightly. “We don’t have a choice.”

Morro turns to look at them, green form flickering slightly, but giving off a faint glow strong enough for them to see his face. “Well I think he might challenge her, considering how he works.”

“But he might not,” Skylor says. “Like how I wouldn’t duel Kai because all of them have too large of a presence on our past.”

As if on cue, the door swings open and Zane appears in the doorway. “Are any of you willing to fight for your freedom?”

The question sounds like it’s been asked countless times before, but the look on his face shows this is the first time he’s asking this. 

“No.” All of them say in unison, and Zane’s brows furrow. 

“Well, Cryptor agreed to duel Pixal so if he, by a slight chance, goes free, then the rest of you will be stuck here.”

“Don’t care,” Harumi says dismissively, and honestly, she does care but she knows that if Cryptor wins this duel, then they have a better chance of breaking out. 

“Did you find the Realm Crystal yet?” Morro asks out of the blue and Harumi wants to slap him. 

“Yes,” Zane says. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh.” The slight panic in that one syllable is very obvious, but either Zane doesn’t pick up on it, or he doesn’t care. “Just wondering.”

“Well, we need to, as Sensei Wu puts it, purge the darkness from the Sixteen Realms.”

“You do know that all you’re doing is making everything worse?” Skylor asks offhandedly. They all know Zane won’t come to his senses, or whatever nindroids sense, but it’s worth a try. 

Zane, unsurprisingly, shakes his head. “We are not. You are making things worse. I shouldn’t be talking to you.”

And he leaves, the door shutting behind him with an ominous click. 

“This is stupid,” Morro grumbles. “What’s the point of keeping us here? They could just kill us.”

“I thought you said Sensei Wu likes to drag out punishment to make them wish they were dead?”

“Yeah, but only for his longtime enemies. Any emergency issues, like us, are killed immediately. The basement was always covered in blood.”

He shudders involuntarily. 

The door swings open again and it’s Kai that stands there this time. “You’re gonna have to watch the duel,” he says, clearly not happy to be the one to drag them all upstairs. 

“Really?” Harumi doesn’t know what to feel about this. She doesn’t want to witness anyone’s death today, but if it’s the last time they can make a secure plan...

“Yes really,” Kai grumbles and grabs her chains to take her upstairs. 

The sun is so bright, it nearly blinds her. It’s amazing how much damage they’ve managed to create within the minimal time they were allowed.

The roof has large chunks missing, the walls are scorched with huge chunks carved out of them, and Harumi has to step over gaping holes in the floor to keep up with Kai. 

The Master Of Fire makes her sit in this chair near the entrance of some room, and goes back to get Skylor and Morro. 

Morro takes an exceptionally long time to arrive, due to him and Kai shouting at each other the whole time. Harumi can’t really understand what they’re saying, but something about possession?

When Morro finally gets settled, she asks him. 

“Oh, I possessed Kai, remember? He’s not too happy about it.”

“Oh yeah. Right.”

Skylor just looks uncomfortable with the whole situation. Maybe it’s Kai staring at her every second he gets, or maybe because she’s full of tension for what’s about to come. 

Harumi’s sure it’s a mixture of both. 

“Hey,” she calls out when Kai starts to leave, and he turns around, looking disgruntled. “Can we see Cryptor before, you know..”

She mimics stabbing people as best she can with the chains wrapped around her. 

“No.” And Kai walks away, going faster with each step, like he’s glad to be rid of them. 

“Wow, rude,” she huffs, slumping in her seat. Morro snickers. 

“Okay, so we’re tied up, our friend is going to kill or be killed, and I’m bored.” Skylor jerks her head at the doorway next to them. “How long does it take for them to get ready?”

“Suspension issues,” Morro suggests, right as the doors swing open and Cole and Jay grab them and take them inside. 

The arena is like an emptied out storage room. At least, it’s what Harumi thinks it looks like. Her brief time on the Bounty didn’t really give her a tour of the place so she doesn’t know if it actually was a storage room or if always was like this. 

The center has been cleared out, chairs placed rather randomly around it. Harumi is shoved rather violently into a chair, Skylor on one side of her, Morro on the other. 

Pixal appears out of nowhere, helmet in her hands and sword strapped to her back. She raises her eyebrows at them and smiles. Her expression is like straight out of a horror movie, yet Harumi can’t look away. 

“Welcome,” she says, “to the place where we, how do you say it?” she turns to Jay who mouths something and then continues “where we play with our food.”


	6. duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A showdown. Not that big, but important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: violence

Morro didn’t experience fear often, but he is definitely feeling it now. And judging by the look on his friends’ faces, they feel the same way. 

Pixal, while she was uncorrupted, had a reputation for being kind and rather compassionate, even despite her AES-ES chip. Apparently, when someone turns you evil as a plan to take over the entire world, it gives the personality a rather radical change. 

Which meant that she was as ruthless as Cryptor when it came to dealing with her enemies. 

Speaking of Pixal, the android stands at one end of the room, swords crossed in front of her. Her helmet is on, making it impossible for Morro to judge her expression. 

Not that he wants to anyway, but it would be a lot easier for Cryptor, who stands directly opposite her. 

They all were going to regret this decision. 

“You have three seconds to back out,” Lloyd says, though his voice is devoid of any sympathy. 

Cryptor doesn’t move. His eyes are staring straight ahead, something akin to determination lingering there. Morro understands why he wants to do this. 

They can’t have their ties to the past keeping them down. 

Without any further warning, Pixal leaps forward, swords flashing. If it were anyone other than Cryptor standing there, they would’ve gotten skewered by her blades. But nindroids were specifically programmed to have inhumanly quick reflexes and Cryptor brings his own katanas upwards to parry the blow, moving to the left to throw Pixal off. 

She spins back and goes after him again, and Morro flinches as their blades clash, sparks flying from the intensity of the blows. 

Even the ninja seem put off by the amount of sheer emotion in the room. Both androids aren’t holding back; their emotion processors may not be fully as capable as a human’s, but it is pretty damn close, which gives them a surprising edge when their emotions fuel their attacks. 

Morro is startled from his thoughts when a loud clang echoes through the room and he glances up to see Pixal lying on the ground, left hand gone and wiring exposed. Cryptor stands over her, swords poised to attack, but he hesitates. 

He _always_ hesitates. 

And Morro _knows_ what’s going to happen next, he _always_ will know, because it happens _every damn time_ and he can’t do a _thing_ about it because—

Because Pixal is on her feet again, taking advantage of the hesitation. In one fluid motion, she grasps one of her fallen katanas and brings it upward, lodging it in Cryptor’s chest, a sickening crack snapping through the room as it pierces through his chest plate like it was made of fabric and comes out the other side. 

Cryptor staggers backwards, eyes flashing dark briefly before he recovers from the surprise. Wrenching the blade out of his chest with another loud snap that makes everyone in the room wince, he drops the ruined katana on the floor. 

Both androids apparently need some recovery because they start to circle each other, trying to find an opening to strike. 

“Still too soft to kill me, Cryptor?” Pixal asks, the crack along the front of her helmet revealing the deadly glimmer in her eyes. “Or is your programming faulty? You were _trying_ to protect me, was that right? Was that why you stayed on the Overlord's side? When you knew there was another way?”

Cryptor narrows his eyes but says nothing. Morro knows he doesn't trust himself to say anything. 

They’re all so tired of trying to convince the unconvinced. Everyone is too far into the darkness to be pulled out, Pixal most of all. 

“I thought you would be happy to see me again,” she says. “After all you protested when the ninja found me. The Overlord, Garmadon, everything you do is all influenced by evil.”

“The only evil influence here is your sensei,” Cryptor responds, his voice scratchy. Whatever repairs he managed to make to his voicebox were only worsened by Pixal. 

Pixal shakes her head. “No, we just want to save the world. From you.”

Cryptor says nothing but his grip tightens on his katanas. 

Harumi starts to shake — in fear or anger, Morro isn’t sure which. 

“Are you okay?” he asks in as low of a voice he can. 

Harumi nods. “Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it.”

There’s childlike curiosity and horror in her tone and Morro isn’t sure which one scares him the most. “How do you know?”

“I dreamed about this,” she replies. “I never saw the outcome, but I know it isn’t good.”

Which means that Cryptor is going to lose. 

In any other circumstance, Morro would’ve welcomed the possibility. Maybe if they’d been of opposite sides. But here, to the person who knew Cryptor’s mind like her own, in front of their enemy, was too cruel, even for Morro. 

And then, with a flurry of motion, they attack each other once more. 

It’s so loud and fast that Morro can’t tell who’s winning and who’s losing. But he can see when one of Cryptor’s katanas comes flying out of nowhere and hits the wall, causing it to crack in two. And he can see when Pixal lurches to the side, knee giving out sparks, shards of metal covering her legs. And he can see when both suddenly fly apart as — Morro isn’t sure who brought the grenade in, but it wasn’t a good idea, and it definitely wasn’t Cryptor because they learned the hard way last time— an explosion rocks the whole room, plaster raining down on top of everyone. Morro isn’t able to phase — not with the Deepstone and Vengestone chains at least — and a large chunk of it lands in his lap. 

The silence afterwards is deafening, the only sounds coming from the remaining plaster falling to the floor. 

Both androids are critically injured: Pixal’s entire leg is gone, half of her hair and face seared off. Cryptor’s arm is missing, and whatever other injuries he has is lost on Morro because Pixal is moving again, albeit slowly. 

She pulls herself across the ground with her arms, her left leg dragging uselessly behind her and her right leg reduced to a bunch of wires, and manages, somehow, to get all the way across the room to where Cryptor lies. 

The nindroid is more injured than Pixal, Morro can see it clearly now. It looks like someone took a sledgehammer that was covered in fire and slammed it repeatedly in the center of his torso. 

“Maybe I should’ve mentioned something,” Pixal muses. “Did I ever tell you how much I’m inclined to revenge now?”

Cryptor opens his mouth to speak but she places a hand over it, silencing him. 

“Please don’t speak,” she says before reaching over with her free hand and latching onto his laser optic eye. 

What happens next is too horrific for Morro to watch yet too captivating to look away. She digs her fingers under the metal disk, sparks fizzing and popping against her artificial skin and starts to pull, wires straining against her grip. Cryptor’s normal eye widens, the optic dilating, making the red glow from it intensify tenfold. Skylor makes a small noise from the back of her throat and Morro looks over to see her with her eyes wide, hands flexing in a desperate attempt to get free. Harumi is shaking more violently now, not even daring to look at the scene unfolding before them. 

Pixal’s expression is unreadable, partially because of her lack of face, but her eyes are narrowed into slits as she pulls. With a loud snick sound, one of the wires snap and a jolt of visible electricity travels down Cryptor’s body, causing it to jerk uncontrollably. Cryptor’s eye is now flashing, going dark every few milliseconds, and Morro wonders what it feels like, to slowly and painfully have your eye extracted forcibly from your face. 

He decides he doesn’t want to know. 

More wires snap, and the electricity now coursing over and through Cryptor has thickened enough to illuminate the whole room. Pixal is still going, despite some of the sparks landing on her, sizzling into her arms and upper body, her teeth gritted in pain and anger. 

With a final jerk and twist, the laser optic comes free, the light within dying to a dull grey. The attachments keeping it to Cryptor’s head come off as well, an ugly clump of metal and wires, leaving a large empty socket so deep, Morro can see the wiring and gears beneath. Oil steadily drips from the wound, coating the ground. 

“That was for every single action you have made against me and the rest of the ninja,” she says and crushes the objects in her fist before letting it drop. Cryptor stares at her, eye still wide, mouth moving silently, as his body convulses along the electricity. 

Pixal stands slowly and glances over at Morro, and the brief moment that they make eye contact, he can see what looks like sadness -- he'd be lying if he said he didn't see any regret in her eyes as well -- before it's gone. 

"Take them," she says, her voice all business once more and Kai, who's the closest to Morro, flinches slightly at her tone. "And make sure they don't break out again."


	7. death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ....

He’s alone. And it hurts. So much. 

Pixal turns back to him and he can barely see her due to the oil coating his face and his missing eye. 

“I waited so long to do this,” she says and reaches for her sword. 

He doesn’t even have a chance to scream.


	8. rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They are rescued by two characters I totally didn’t forget to add in until now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, there’s no Zane in this one. Maybe when the plot calls for it.

They sit in stunned silence in the darkened room. 

“He-he’s still alive, right?”

“If not, we’ll be able to put him back together, hopefully.” 

“We’re stuck,” Morro says after a moment. “Again.”

“And what gave that away?” Harumi responds. 

“Kinda stupid, but do you have your Borg Phone?” Skylor asks her. 

Harumi nods. “I keep it in my back pocket. I can’t reach it. Why?”

“Could you call someone? Ronin or Pythor? Or some other person who’s still on our side?”

“Well, Ronin only escaped the influence because he only does stuff for money,” Morro says. “And Pythor doesn’t have a phone, does he?”

“I don’t remember. The last time I used my phone was to call you guys during our Sons of Garmadon run.”

“Well if you turn around a bit, I might be able to reach it,” Skylor says. 

Harumi gives her a squinty look before sighing. “Alright.”

She turns as best she can and Skylor scoots toward her, managing to grip the edge of the phone with her fingertips and pulls it back in her direction. 

“Password?”

Harumi stares at her for a moment before replying. “It’s the fingerprint thing.”

“Oh.” Skylor eases the phone back to Harumi, who presses her finger on it. 

It unlocks. 

The phone app has so little numbers, it’s not even funny. There’s maybe two for what she used for the Sons of Garmadon operation and one for R.E.X. and another one which has no name. 

Skylor presses the nameless one. 

It rings. And rings. 

And finally, a familiar drawl floats through the speaker. _“Pythor here. Who is this?”_

“Hey, uh, it’s Skylor.”

 _“Oh. You.”_ The disgust in Pythor’s voice is only a facade, all of them know that. _“What do you need?”_

“We’re kinda stuck in the Bounty right now only a few hours from execution,” Harumi says. 

Pythor sighs so loudly, the speaker goes over to static for a bit. _“Well, I do suppose I can sneak you out. Just this once. End of the world and all.”_

“Alright,” Skylor hesitates and then adds, “Cryptor’s kinda broken at the moment so if you could somehow find him as well?”

Pythor groans. _“Fine, fine. Expect me to take longer, then, if you’re going to insist on me doing everything.”_

“Is Ronin there? Or is he scrounging for money as usual?” Morro asks. 

 _“He’s not here at the moment,”_ Pythor replies. _“Though I do have Garmadon on the line. He’d like a few words with you.”_

There is a faint click and Garmadon’s voice suddenly echoes through the small room. _“I only have a few minutes before going back to the Departed Realm. I have some advice for you: Some sacrifices will have to be made that you will not like, but when it comes to personal needs, you must be able to make a decision.”_

“What is that supposed to mean?” Morro demands but the phone switches over to Pythor. 

_“Well, I will come rescue you now, hang tight.”_

And the phone turns off. 

They wait in silence until a loud clang echoes through the ship, followed by thumping footsteps and shouts score everything goes quiet. 

The door opens, a familiar long-necked silhouette crossing over them. 

“Took you long enough,” Skylor grumbles. 

Pythor rolls his eyes. “Well, obviously I was expecting a thank you but this is good enough.”

With one swift motion, he draws his sword and slices through Skylor’s bonds, and while he goes to work freeing Harumi and Morro as well, Skylor peeks outside to see — well, nothing in particular. 

“Where are the ninja?” she asks. 

“Oh, let’s just say they’re exploring a broom closet right now. Really, it’s a pleasant experience,” Pythor says simply. 

“And Cryptor?” Harumi asks. 

“I have no idea where he is. If you had an idea for once, that would be great.” 

“He’sprobably in the arena,” Skylor says, mostly to herself, and walks outside and down the hallway to where all of them had been dragged what seemed like ages ago. 

The room is exactly as it had been when they were dragged away. The broken katanas still lay on the floor, as well as — Skylor notices this, stomach lurching — the remains of Cryptor’s laser optic crumpled on the floor. Cryptor himself is still where he had fallen, a new addition being a blackened katana spearing his chest. 

The oil leaking from the gap in his face is smeared all across the ground, running into little puddles in the divots in the floor. 

Pythor snakes his neck around to take an extensive look at the damage done. “Ooh, Pixal has done a number to him. I don’t believe we’ll be able to fix him with the parts he still has.”

“So where are we going to get these parts?” Harumi asks, gingerly stepping over a puddle of oil to get a closer look, eyes squinting in a grimace. “We can’t just—”

She and Pythor talk at the same time. “—go into Borg Tower and steal it.”

“Woah, no, we can’t just go in and take the stuff we need!” Skylor protests. “We’re the heroes.”

“And heroes do what’s right,” Pythor says with a smirk. “So if it’s right to fix Cryptor, then fix him.”

Skylor exchanges glances with Morro and Harumi and sighs. “Fine. Okay. We’ll go to Borg Tower, get the stuff we need, and that’s it. Nothing else.”

“What about the whole security system in there?” Morro asks. 

“Not a problem,” Pythor replies, “Assuming Borg hasn’t updated anything, everything will be unlockable and avoidable.” He gestures to Cryptor’s prone form. “We best get moving before the ninja realize there is a doorknob on the inside of the door.”

And he slithers outside, without waiting for them. 

Skylor huffs and kneels down next to Cryptor’s body, gesturing for Harumi to join her. “Morro, if you possess his body, can we maybe get him to stand?”

Morro shrugs. “We can try,” he says dubiously. 

Turning himself intangible, he floats horizontally and lowers himself into the nindroid’s casing and Cryptor suddenly sits up, oil sloshing over the random rivets and dents in his body and armor. The eyes remain dull, but his head turns to look at them and his mouth opens to speak but it’s Morro’s voice that comes out. 

“Wow, he’s really messed up,” Morro says. “I think you guys have to help me walk because he’s going to fall apart at the seams if I move too much.”

“Well, we’d best get this over with,” Skylor sighs and with her and Harumi helping, they manage to stagger to the door. 

Pythor is waiting for them, a bored expression on his face, and if he had feet, Skylor is sure that he would be tapping one in irritation. “You done yet?”

“Yeah, no thanks to you,” Morro replies grumpily and Pythor looks slightly startled to see ‘Cryptor’ talk, though he recovers rather quickly. 

“I would rather I don’t get oil all over my scales,” he replies pleasantly. “So! Borg Tower is only a few blocks away. Not that far, but not close, considering the circumstances. So I took the time to call Ronin, for the entirety of you attempting to get Cryptor out of that arena.”

Almost as if on cue, R.E.X. drops down from the sky. Ronin appears along the side, waving his arms at them. “Heard you could use a lift!”

“As long as you’re okay with oil dripping all over her,” Harumi says, nodding towards R.E.X. 

Ronin studies her and then the injured nindroid she’s helping to support and shrugs. “I can clean it up later. You owe me a lot of money for this, by the way.”

Skylor laughs as she struggles to board the ship. “You never change, Ronin. You never change.”


End file.
